TORONTO, CANADA – Kyle Edmund gears up for the first Masters 1000 event of the preparation for the US Open as he faces Top-15 player Diego Schwartzman in a challenging first round.

Kyle Edmund vs Diego Schwartzman [11] H2H: First meeting

The British No.1 Kyle Edmund edges closer to a very big fortnight at Flushing Meadows at the end of the month, but first has to try and get a good few wins under his belt at Masters 1000 level to set him up for it. Edmund took some time to get started during this hard-court swing as he was suffering with tonsillitis, but will want to pick himself after the defeat to the returning Andy Murray in the second round of Washington.

In that match, Edmund had his chances, but he was rather nervy in the critical moments of the match and the usual weapons he relies so dearly on was not at its highest level when he needed it most, while Murray weathered the storm of the second set before showing all of his wealth of experience in the third set.

Edmund’s first round opponent in the Rogers Cup in Toronto will be the diminutive Diego Schwartzman. Schwartzman is known for his tenacity from the back of the court, his ability to be able to bring down the giants of the game with his hard work on the baseline and his retrieval skills, but he also produced some fantastic results on the hard courts to really back up the great things he has already accomplished on the red clay.

Schwartzman is another example of a player that really has gotten the absolute maximum out of his ability and out of his career as he is now at No.12 in the world with no real outstanding weapons. He has the skill to be able to hit through a clean and crisp backhand side, but his defence is his real strength.

The Argentine may be just outside the Top 10 but he will be looking over his shoulder as he has a lot of points to defend in the upcoming weeks, with quarter-final points to defend in Canada and at the US Open and he will have to be on his game immediately to be able to defend all those points.

What is key for Edmund is to be able to take advantage of the struggle for court control. He plays his best tennis when he is on the front foot and when he has his opponent dancing to his tune through the big forehand side and he will be given plenty of time to do that against Schwartzman, but he has to recognise that more of his forehands will get put back into play than maybe he is used to.

Edmund will look to play with controlled aggression and gradually improve his court position with each and every forehand before he strikes the killer blow. When Edmund is positive he flourishes on a tennis court.